The Loeb-Leopold case - The Clarence Darrow Collection

The Loeb-Leopold Case
" He was the patient's own age, rather large for
his age. The patient's idea was to get hold of this
boy when he was coming back from a party and
lure him into an automobile. Neither of them, how-
ever, could think of any simple, certain way of se-
curing the money. They continued to discuss the
matter, weighing the pros and cons, suggesting
methods only to pick flaws in them. In March,
1924, the patient conceived the idea of securing " —
what? Thrill? Excitement? No. " Conceived the
idea of securing the money by having it thrown off
of a moving train. It was figured out first that the
money should be thrown off of a moving train when
it was dark somewhere in the country. He and
his companion spent many uncomfortable after-
noons — " (I really sympathize with you dear little
boys for all the discomfort you have suffered on
those afternoons. It is too bad that in this weird un-
canny scheme of yours of murder, you had to spend
many uncomfortable afternoons) — " going over
the Illinois Central tracks looking for suitable loca-
tion." Mad boys in the dark and dreamland, doing
a mad act without any thought of the consequences
of it, and not considering their personal safety at
all? Too crazy to know that it was wrong and too
crazy to care whether they were caught?
" They both felt that it was not safe to use either
of their own cars. The patient developed an intense
interest in the plan and found also that it gave him
a very pleasant topic of conversation when he and
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